


Unconsidered Variables

by SimplyEssa



Series: Post Season Eight [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Squid Monsters, Angst, Blood & Violence, Heavy Angst, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt Zethrid (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Jokes, Poison, Whump, teddy bear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-15 16:14:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17532020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplyEssa/pseuds/SimplyEssa
Summary: “Alright, boss,” she huffs, panting slightly. It’s safe to say they’re lost, even with the schematics she was sent. “How you doing?””Like I got hit by a truck.””What?””A— oh, right. Earth saying,” his voice catches on a wheeze and he heaves against Zethrid’s shoulder. Zethrid prays to whatever deity there is out there that Keith doesn’t puke on her, but... she supposes she’ll accept it if he does. “Like I got chewed by... uh, a Weblum?”





	Unconsidered Variables

**Author's Note:**

> the title is just like me, writing this blind— <3 i made this up on the spot like all of my usual fics !!  
> (disclaimer: there was a lot w s8 so i don’t want any talk abt it in comments !! let people have their own opinion)
> 
> enjoy !!!

“Stark contrast.”

”What?”

”Stark contrast,” Keith repeats, a grin on his pale (far paler than his normal shade of pale, Zethrid notices), bloodstained face, “from when you tried to kick my ass.”

”Oh my— shut up, boss,” she grunts, spitefully stepping a little too hard to jostle him. She instantly feels bad when he groans and falls a little more limp over her shoulders, shuddering harshly. “Sorry.”

”Fuck you,” he gets out in response.

A chuckle fights it’s way through her lips as she jogs a little lighter to avoid causing him more pain. She quickly checks the schematics Axca had uploaded to their ship before ducking into a corner, tightening the grip she has on his good leg and arm. 

“Alright, boss,” she huffs, panting slightly. He’s not heavy, not in the slightest, but her own wounds are wearing her down as well as the jogging for nearly fifteen minutes now. It’s safe to say they’re lost, even with the schematics she was sent. “How you doing?”

”Like I got hit by a truck.”

”What?”

”A— oh, right. Earth saying,” his voice catches on a wheeze and he heaves against Zethrid’s shoulder. Zethrid prays to whatever deity there is out there that Keith doesn’t puke on her, but... she supposes she’ll accept it if he does. “Like I got chewed by... uh, a Weblum?”

“That sucks,” she mumbles softly, listening for the tell tale _click, clack_ of soldiers boots. As much as she wants to charge headfirst and destroy them all, with the size of these things and their injuries combined, they won’t last more than a dobash, and she’s come to like this guy. “Need a break?”

”’m good.”

The rasp to his voice doesn’t fail to alarm her, but she nods and starts up her trek once more, this time in a tense silence.

* * *

“Why are we even looking at this stuff?” Ezor asks, draped across her seat in the bridge, hanging upside down. “The Galra’s been gone—"

"This wasn't at the hands of the Galra, Ezor," Keith interrupts, his eyes narrowed at the digital map hovering above his control panel. "That's why we're--  _we_ being Axca and I, so you can calm down. That's why we're going to go check it out. We need to see who's causing these explosions and deaths, and bring it to an end."

He hears Ezor sigh in relief and proceed to stick her tongue out at Axca, who simply rolls her eyes. It brings a fond smile to his face before he turns back to the panel, frowning down at it again.

"Why Axca?" Zethrid asks, suddenly, interrupting his train of thought. He frowns a little deeper and turns around, feeling the scar on his upper elbow twinge when he looks at the one who gave it to him. "If it's a stealth thing, Ezor can literally hide herself. If it's a brute thing, well-"

"Because I need her computer intelligence on this, as well as her stealth skills. While Ezor  _is_ good at technology, she's no where near Axca's level, and neither are you," Keith pauses and gauges her face for a reaction, noticing the small twitch in her left eyebrow, and the anxious tapping of her right leg. "I understand that being cooped up so long might  _suck_ , and I feel you, I do, but while Axca and I are gone, you and Ezor will be handing out supplies to a planet nearby our location. You'll be on call for extraction in case something goes wrong."

He sees her shoulders slump, slightly, sees the tapping stop, and he offers a small smile before turning back to his map.

Shiro would be proud.

* * *

" _Two_ motherships?" he whispers, as he slips in between a small crack of wall and blown up debris. He grimaces at the sight of neon yellow blood, as well as a  _tentacle_ , but... he had seen this species before. They were a kind species, but why would they need two motherships? There weren't many of them. "Why two?"

"I'm uncertain," Axca responds, voice just as quiet, "but it would be best if we were to split up and check out both. It will cover most ground and limit the amount of time we need to spend here in case another explosion or distress signal goes off."

As much as Keith wants to argue, she's right. They don't have any time to spare.

"...Fine," he says, pushing aside another heavy piece of debris, "but if you see danger, contact me and leave. We'll take care of it together."

"And you contact me as well."

Keith turns around, offers her a grim nod, and she's on her way.

* * *

Keith, in fact, did  _not_ call Axca for help, and was stupid enough to try and take on seven evil, pink squid (no-- jellyfish? Zethrid isn't sure, but it has long limbs and a pointy head) things on his own. The only reason Zethrid was here  _now,_ saving his sorry ass, was because one of the squids had messed with his communicator while they had him pinned down and  _dying_.

"Boss," she says, taking another sharp turn. They're almost out; she can feel it, "talk to me. Let me know you're alive."

No response.

Come to think of it, Keith's short, wheezy excuses for breathing had become a lot slower, too, and he had become increasingly warm against his back. He knew those alien's tentacles were toxic, but she didn't know how much they touched him with it. She hadn't  _seen_ any marks from it, but they always preferred to get underneath whatever you're wearing for skin to skin contact; a quicker death.

"Quiznak," she hisses, stopping behind a wall. She doesn't hear any footsteps so they must've lost them, but she doesn't want to stay here long. She kneels before setting Keith down on the ground, supporting him against her chest. His head lolls until it's just barely held up by her shoulder, his ear pressed against his own shoulder. "Boss, c'mon? You with me?"

"Kin... kind'a," he mumbles, and Zethrid sighs a very, very heavy sigh of relief. 

"Okay," she nods and tightens her grip around his chest, very careful of the burns and rashes that are no doubt on his chest, and pulls out her communicator with her free hand. "Ez? Axca?"

"Axca here."

"That's me!"

"Get your purple and orange butts over here ASAP, we got a situation,” she says, hoping she used the word ASAP right as she shifts Keith once more. “Boss is down; I think he’s been poisoned by Klasheps—“

”Klasheps?” Axca questions, her voice confused and concerned at the same time.

”Those pink slithery aliens we ran into a few decapheobs ago.”

”Oh, gross! I hated those things! Made me sick for weeks!” Ezor exclaims.

”Yeah, well, if you don’t get over here soon, so is the Boss! I can’t find a way out, and he lost his mask, so I can’t just smash us out! Stupid humans and their need for that breathing stuff.” 

“It’s called oxygen, Zethrid,” Axca tells her, ever the intellectual of their group. “I’ll be there in a few dobashes.”

”Me too!”

The line goes dead, and all she can hear is Keith’s uneasy breathing as she waits for them to help them out of here.

* * *

A groan and small whimper stirs her from her half slumber, and she’s wide awake in instants, offering a small smirk to Keith. 

His head is bandaged from a concussion he received, somehow, and his upper torso is covered in dozens of thick... what did they call it; bandages? One on his arm has soaked through with blood, but someone from the Garrison will be by in about an hour to fix the bandages.

”Hey, boss,” she says, much softer than her normal tone; she makes a face as she says it, because it’s wrong and she doesn’t like it (just how Keith being wrapped in those bandages and weak is wrong. She doesn’t like it either). “Feeling any better?”

He frowns, a glazed look in his eyes for a moment before it dulls, slightly, and he nods. “Yeah. We... we at the Garrison?”

”Yep. Closest planet with a semi decent healing system.”

”Hospital.”

”Healing system.”

Keith giggles, _giggles_ , and closes his eyes again briefly, a mere blink, but a long one. “‘kay.”

”You wanna go back to sleep? I’ll tell Ezzy and Axca you’re okay.”

”...okay.”

Zethrid stays with him until he falls into a peaceful sleep, before getting up to tell the others and a snack. She’ll be back before he wakes up, so he’s not alone. She knows he doesn’t like it.

Keith is right, she realizes.

It is a stark contrast from years prior, in more ways than one.

**Author's Note:**

> you can fight me on teddy bear zethrid okay  
> like yes she’s hard and mean but she’s a teddy bear in her own way— she’s also grown from hating keith ok
> 
> edit, literally like an hour after posting: changed the tags !! i made the ending different and forgot open ended was up there  
> also we are unbetad like true fanfic authors


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